Russ Baker

Reading Time: 4minutes With polls tightening ahead of the midterms, is the slow-moving caravan of migrants moving toward the US the “October Surprise” Republicans need to scare their base into turning out?

Reading Time: 26minutes Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges, putting President Donald Trump in legal jeopardy. Here’s the strange history of how a relatively unknown lawyer with Russian and Ukrainian ties became intertwined with the Trump empire.

Reading Time: 6minutes This month marks the 75th anniversary of JFK’s famed WWII heroic moment. A perfect time to examine whatever correlations there may be between leadership, military service, and views on war and peace.

Reading Time: 26minutes Michael Cohen may have just jeopardized Trump’s presidency. Long before the spotlight was on the president’s most troublesome ex-attorney, WhoWhatWhy was probing this curious character in the Russiagate saga.

Reading Time: 2minutes Alleged Russian agent and femme fatale Mariia (aka Maria) Butina was arraigned in federal court the other day. But she’s either the most incompetent spy ever, or perhaps someone is trying to make President Trump look even worse than he already does.

Reading Time: 27minutes Everyone’s buzzing about the huge payment Trump pal Michael Cohen took to get the Ukrainian president in with the American president. But there’s more of a Ukraine connection to Michael Cohen than the media is telling us.

Reading Time: 4minutes Baseball’s Fay Vincent defends CIA lying to “protect our boys.” But what is really being protected are the private interests, the deals, the mines, the cheap labor, and the extracted resources around the globe.

Reading Time: 26minutes With the FBI raid on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s office, everyone is scrambling for explanations. But as WhoWhatWhy reported last year, Michael Cohen’s background has long demanded close scrutiny. He came out of nowhere, backed by Russia-connected figures, and bought his way into Donald Trump’s heart. Here’s the full story as it appeared on September 18, 2017.

Reading Time: 4minutes What does Prince Mohammed know about apparent connections between Saudi hijackers and his half-brother and advisor? And did President Donald Trump, who once questioned the official 9/11 narrative, ask about this?

Reading Time: 27minutes With the passing of Billy Graham, we can expect all the usual homilies and hagiographies. But there’s another side to the role of such very public “men of God” in America’s cynical politics.

Reading Time: 2minutes In the aftermath of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the public learned that the FBI had been alerted twice to the potential danger of shooter Nikolas Cruz. But this is not the first time the FBI screwed up royally.

Reading Time: 26minutes Michael Cohen, one of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers, claims that he paid porn star Stormy Daniels — who reportedly had an affair with Trump in 2006 — $130,000 out of his own pocket shortly before the 2016 presidential election. But who is Michael Cohen? WhoWhatWhy found out some fascinating things about this Trump confidant. As with almost everything in this saga, there’s a Russian angle.

Reading Time: 3minutes The Nation magazine is inviting readers to join them on an exciting sightseeing tour of Russia to experience its rich history, politics, and culture. But a few things were noticeably missing in this package. Here’s what a WhoWhatWhy tour would look like.

Reading Time: 12minutes Former President George H.W. Bush claimed to have trouble remembering where he was when John F. Kennedy was shot — in Bush’s own state. Helping refresh Bush 41’s memory leads in some fascinating directions.